Projects What's the most generic way you've lifted the body off your car in a small garage?

It really depends on what your dealing with here. A little 28 roadster body, you can do with three people, my 54 body with glass I did with two people and two engine hoists. How much celing room do you have? I measured my tires height, stacked 4 cinder blocks high to get above the tires and layed 4x4s across the cinder blocks. i attached a hoist, one to the front body mounts, and one to the back body mounts and lifted one side at a time till the dbody was high enough to just slide the 4x4s accross the cinder blocks and under the body, and then gently lowered the body onto the 4x4's. This was a safe and simple method of doing it, rather than taking the risk of using 6-man power. But, this only works if your garage is high enough. Otherwise, pull the tires, then you only have to clear the highest part of the frame but youll have to drag the frame out.

 

I'll just say that 1970's style bumper jacks are your friend.

 

Absolutely...use heavy cement blocks...

Are cinder blocks even made anymore...??? I haven't seen any for years...

R-

 

Ivw got the same problems with the rear hubs on my 50 Dodge !! Nothing weve tried will work. What makes these such a pain in the ass( or is that just mopar for ya)??

 

I made an adaptor for my cherry picker:

 

Especially of they are holding your house up!

 

The ol' chain fall works for me. Especially when the body is as rough as this one is.

 

Looks like the car is a 49 Dodge Coronet unless you have something else in the works.

If you have a cherry picker you can use that to lift the back and a chain hoist to lift the front of the body at the firewall. That's if you have a way to support the chain hoist without pulling the rafters down.
Another thought is to rig a dolly that the chassis can be rolled under and do the body lifting outside on the driveway if you have a cement driveway and the push the body on the dolly back in the garage and roll the chassis under it. A couple of those little short skinny spares on the back would get the back down pretty low and help the process.

4x4's and something to block it up above the chassis is probably the simple method. Raise the body up off the frame like someone else said they did, slip the 4x4's in and jack the chassis up high enough to block the body up and let the chassis down. With really short tires on the back you wouldn't have to raise it up quite so high. Just make sure that it is really solid and won't fall over.

 

I have a chain-fall in the center of my garage, that I installed many years ago after reinforcing the roof joists and adding alot of crossbracing. After welding support cross braces inside the body, I used two 2 X 6 planks through the doorless, windowless body and used the chain-fall to lift the bare body off the frame and then rolled the chassis outside. To support the body, I built a 4 X 4 dolly/platform with big casters big enough to support the body properly. I was able to move it around easily on the dolly. When it came time to mate the body and chassis again (a few years later) I just reversed the process, and actually, all this was done alone...I had no help except for my wife, she was always standing by to assist in any way and warn me if something goofy was about to happen. I gotta say that the welded body bracing and roof reinforcing (for the chain-fall) are very important and shouldn't be overlooked.

 

Yes they are, in this part of the country anyway. Still used for house foundations.


I just lift mine off, walk out the garage and set it in the yard. Damned fiberglass T bodies.

 

An inexpensive 1 ton chain hoist from a pawn shop and a couple of 2X4's bolted together. Made it a one man job.

 

This couldn't have come at a better time. I took the link that SILVERSINK listed and in about two hours built my own. The only changes I made, both ends were put on a swivel because the body tapers narrower to the front. Last time I lifted the body by myself I caught it just in time before it went rolling off the frame.

 

I agree. Did that when I was young and foolish.

 

This is probably the most ghetto way of doing things but when you have no help you get desperate. Has worked well probably 4-5 times taking body on and off.

4x4 lumber with a hole in the center. Eye hook bolted through that center so that the back can be lifted. I lift the front half by myself and swing it around.

 

That's a great idea silversink!!! I am in the process of needing to make one of these myself...

 

If the body is light enough and you are daring (or stupid) enough a few 2x4's a couple of straps and a come-along up to the rafters will work...just don't pull the garage down. This has worked for my 30/31 coupe body as well as countless other things.

 

It is truly amazing what can be done by one guy with a good floor jack and a fair dose of stubbornness.

 

I built an A frame with a electric winch to lift my body, it worked real well.
HemiDeuce.

 

You can use Camper jacks. If you know anyone with a set you can borrow you are there. If you use 4 you can lift most car bodies. Good luck.

 

I used a floor jack to raise the back end of a '30 Tudor Sedan. Then I picked up the front end by hand and pushed/rolled it backwards off of the frame. Sat the front end down and then lowered the jack at the rear. Who needs friends?

 

Well, when I was in my 20s, I just got inside and put my hands on the roof and pushed up,walked sideways and set it down. But that was a 32 coupe body....and I was in my 20s...can't do it anymore. For some reason, I have back problems now,gettin older sucks.

 

I got the sandblaster to do it with his fork truck at his place, where there is room to lift it off...